A language
meant to be sung.
Nzebi, where it comes from.
Nzebi is a Bantu language spoken in southern Gabon, mainly in the provinces of Ngounié and Ogooué-Lolo, and across the border in the Republic of the Congo.
It is the language of Mbigou, the town where Tita Nzebi was born. It is also the language she writes in, and that is a choice: singing in Nzebi keeps in the song the music of the language itself, its stresses, its silences, the way it falls.
A Bantu language
Nzebi belongs to the great family of Bantu languages, which covers a good half of the African continent. It is passed on mostly by speech and by song.
Ngounié
Mbigou lies in the province of Ngounié, in southern Gabon. A region of forest and hills, known too for its carving stone.
Song as memory
Lullabies, vigil songs, work songs: part of what is known here was never written down. It was sung.
Listening, even without understanding.
You can follow a song without knowing a word of it. The language carries its own rhythm, and that is often how it gets in. Translations of the titles are on the discography pages, for those who want to go further.